The Faber Report: CNBC's "The Brain" Tells You How Wall ...

Amazon.com Review:
David Faber's The Faber Report is a scathing critique of the greed that permeates all levels of Wall Street, from analysts and investment bankers to money managers and brokers. Faber, who has been covering Wall Street for some 15 years--first as an editor and reporter at Institutional Investor and then, more famously, as a correspondent on CNBC--relates story after story about the conflict of interest that runs rampant between Wall Street and the companies it represents and the investing public. Organized into chapters such as "Why I Hate Analysts," "Why I Love Short Sellers," and "The Truth About Your Broker," the book mixes firsthand observations with advice to individual investors. For example, in the chapter on stock analysts, he advises investors to "Use mass upgrades and downgrades as a contrary indicator" and "Give less credence to positive calls, more credence to negative calls." While some readers may be put off by Faber's self-congratulatory tone, most individual investors would do well to consider Faber's main point about what really happens on Wall Street every day. This book should especially resonate with fans of CNBC's Squawk Box. --Harry C. Edwards

Something For Everyone:
Decades from now, when historians want to get a better understanding of what Wall Street was like at the turn of the 21st century, they won't need to look much further than The Faber Report. Faber's book paints an amazingly clear and comprehensive picture of today's investment climate, giving the reader gobs of insight into the inner workings of the Street. The book has something for everyone; whether you're a novice investor trying to navigate the world of mutual funds or a hedge fund manager with a penchant for short selling, you'll find it eminently useful. (And if you happen to be the New York state attorney general looking for a blueprint to prosecute Jack Grubman and the rest of Wall Street, you'll find the book very worthwhile!) While the book covers investing basics with exceptional clarity (it has a paragraph on the P/E ratio that is one of the best I've seen), it also contains some headier material that more sophisticated investors will find helpful (his 12 point checklist for uncovering financial shenanigans is a keeper). It's difficult to write a book that is both entertaining and instructive, but Faber has pulled it off in spades.

Good For Understanding Wall Street But Not for Making Money:
David Faber is a good reporter in that he does not only repeat what information is given to him but injects some analysis and investigation into his stories. These capabilities are reflected in this book in explaining how the different hedge funds, brokers, mutual funds and bankers interact and affect the market. Although there is some fluff , all in all this book is interesting if only to satisfy your curiosity. On the other hand, even though it gives you an understanding of wall street it offers no help on how to use that to profit. Considering that most individual investors are in the market to make money, this book leaves a gap to be filled. To that effect I found the book " Generate Thousands in cash on your stocks without selling them" recommended by another reviewer to be helpful in supplying specific strategies to recover losses on stocks in this market.

Decent read, but not worth $:
Explaining how analyists work and their associated confilcts of interest is very interesting stuff. However, this book doesn't really offer advice to investors on how to invest intelligently. In the end, this is a decent book with some good info on how the street works, but its not worth $. I dont plan on re-reading this one in the near future.

The Brain's the best there is!:
There's no one better in the world of financial reporting than David Faber. As a member of the media, I could only wish to be as connected, informed, and intelligent as he is. But most importantly, he's the best there is when it comes to sifting through the b.s. that has plagued Wall Street over recent years. This book is almost uncanny, in that it was written months before the dominant financial headlines that rocked the markets in the summer of 2002. We get the warnings about Worldcom, Imclone, and so on, well before anyone else does. Plus, he tells the reader where they can find raw data, what to look for, and the signs that a stock is trouble. Not really a "How to Invest" book, but rather, a "How to Be Informed" book. This book is a must-read. Faber tells it like it is. He was right in the 1990s when he warned on CNBC about the over valued Internet stocks, and time proved him right. By reading this book, you'll understand what to look for the next time Wall Street starts blowing a bubble.

The Brain's the best there is!:
There's no one better in the world of financial reporting than David Faber. As a member of the media, I could only wish to be as connected, informed, and intelligent as he is. But most importantly, he's the best there is when it comes to sifting through the b.s. that has plagued Wall Street over recent years. This book is almost uncanny, in that it was written months before the dominant financial headlines that rocked the markets in the summer of 2002. We get the warnings about Worldcom, Imclone, and so on, well before anyone else does. Plus, he tells the reader where they can find raw data, what to look for, and the signs that a stock is trouble. Not really a "How to Invest" book, but rather, a "How to Be Informed" book. This book is a must-read. Faber tells it like it is. He was right in the 1990s when he warned on CNBC about the over valued Internet stocks, and time proved him right. By reading this book, you'll understand what to look for the next time Wall Street starts blowing a bubble.